Gloire-class Heavy Frigate
In game Overall strategy The ''Gloire''-class Heavy Frigate is a heavy warship that has been purposely built with crew propulsion and iron armour, and is in effect a Steam Frigate with the stats of an Ironclad. Equally, like most Ironclads, she can be used to punish Fortresses and Castles, but be wary of the new Rifled Guns and Citadels as they can deal damage against Gloire. So when playing as France in a naval setting, the best thing you need to do is to stay clear of the water until you reach the Industrial Era — upon which then you should spam-build Frigates and Heavy Frigates, then research Bessemer Process to immediately unlock the Gloire at the Harbour, then kill. The only enemies that Gloire really ought to watch out for are Torpedo Boats -- but consider how cheap Gloire really is, and the cost of building Torpedo Boats, it would be much better to raise your own Torpedo Boat fleets to defend your Gloire fleet from being sent to the bottom of the ocean. If you are playing a game versus the United Kingdom or Savoy, Torpedo Boat fleets are a must, since the Enrico Dandolo class of ironclad will be faster than Glore, whereas Devastation-class ironclads are harder to destroy. It is thus better to simply use a vast number of Torpedo Boats to fend off their attacks, whilst using Gloire to neutralise any interference from the enemy's Steam Frigates. History With the onset of the Industrial Age, European civilisation began to experience a degree of technological and economic mastery hitherto unknown for centuries. One of the areas impacted by this was the production of iron, which made it more cheaper and easier to work with. The more reliable and more economical supply of iron thus meant that a new chapter in naval history was about to be written: the age of metal warships. The mastery of steam power and he new navies of 19th century Europe (as well as many conflicts throughout the period) soon meant that ironclads would progress from being ad hoc improvised vessels (such as the Japanese atakebune, or the conversion of ships of the line reclad in iron and refitted with steam propulsion) but were purposefully built vessels meant to be constructed en masse on an industrial scale. The French-built Gloire was the very first such warship to be built to reflect the new developments of her day. Launched shortly after the Crimean War of 1853-56, Gloire functioned as a ship of the line with full-rig masts, yet possessed a few new tricks up her metallic sleeves, apart from iron cladding, she was also armed with the all-new rifled Paixhans guns, and a steam-powered screw propulsion. Additionally, she was also capable of navigating deep water, allowing her to deploy wherever so required, coal willing. Although Gloire did not really see much action, the impact of Gloire on the course of arms development was such that it spurred an arms race that would eventually culminate in the rise of new steel-based cruisers shortly before the First World War.